Accelerating Basic and Translational Research in Hidradenitis Suppurativa (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PA 18 718

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 18 718

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Accelerating Basic and Translational Research in Hidradenitis Suppurativa (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" (Funding Opportunity Number: PA-18-718) is a discretionary grant program designed to push the hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) research field forward by backing projects that are intentionally high-risk and high-reward. The FOA uses the NIH R21 mechanism, which is commonly aimed at early-stage, exploratory, or proof-of-concept work where investigators are testing bold ideas, generating preliminary data, or opening up new research directions that could later mature into larger, more definitive studies. The central goal is to speed up discovery in HS and translate emerging biological insights into strategies that could ultimately improve disease control and patient outcomes.

The scientific focus of the announcement is firmly rooted in basic and translational mechanistic research. NIH is looking for studies that clarify the etiology of HS and unpack the cellular and molecular mechanisms that drive disease onset, persistence, and progression. The FOA explicitly highlights a broad set of contributing factor categories that applicants can target, including environmental influences, genetic susceptibility, epigenetic regulation, biologic pathways, and immunologic drivers. In practical terms, this means proposed research can range from dissecting inflammatory signaling networks and immune cell behavior in HS lesions, to studying skin and follicular biology, to identifying genetic variants or epigenetic marks that change disease risk or severity, to examining how external exposures or microbiologic and host factors interact to influence disease biology. The emphasis is on understanding "why" and "how" HS happens at a mechanistic level, rather than describing the disease at a population level.

A key feature of this FOA is its encouragement of translational work that shortens the distance between laboratory findings and therapeutic development. While the projects are not clinical trials, the program is intended to help move promising ideas toward interventions by supporting studies that can inform new treatment targets, biomarkers, or rational therapeutic strategies. The FOA also signals strong interest in multidisciplinary collaboration, with the idea that HS is complex enough to benefit from integrated expertise, such as immunology, dermatology, genetics, microbiology, bioinformatics, pathology, wound healing, and systems biology. The overall tone is oriented toward rapid bench-to-bedside exchange of knowledge, meaning that even when work is performed in a lab setting, it should be positioned to contribute to clinically meaningful advances down the line.

In terms of acceptable approaches, the announcement indicates a broad range of mechanistic studies using both animal models and human models. This includes research that uses human tissues, primary cells, organotypic systems, or other human-derived experimental platforms to capture features of HS biology, as well as animal model work aimed at testing mechanistic hypotheses that are difficult to answer directly in people. The underlying expectation is that the models selected should be appropriate for answering mechanistic questions about HS pathogenesis and for identifying actionable biological pathways, rather than simply cataloging observations without a clear mechanistic endpoint.

Just as important as what the FOA supports is what it does not support. This opportunity is not intended to fund epidemiology studies, and it is not intended to support clinical trials. That boundary matters because it clarifies the role of this program in the overall HS research pipeline: it is meant to generate foundational mechanistic insights and translational leads, not to run interventional studies in patient populations or conduct population-level descriptive or risk-factor analyses. Applicants proposing work that looks like a clinical trial, or that is primarily epidemiologic in design, would not be aligned with the stated intent of the announcement.

Administratively, this is an NIH grant under the Health funding activity category, associated with CFDA number 93.846. The award ceiling listed is $200,000, reflecting the relatively modest, exploratory nature typical of R21 projects. The source record lists an original closing date of 2021-09-07 and a creation date of 2018-03-28; anyone considering submission in the present should verify the current availability of the FOA, any reissuance, or related active notices and deadlines, since NIH opportunities often have multiple receipt dates across years or get replaced by updated versions.

Eligibility is broad and inclusive, spanning many organization types across the public, private, nonprofit, and academic sectors. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; Native American tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; and additional applicant categories. The FOA also explicitly notes a wide set of "other eligible applicants," including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, U.S. territories or possessions, regional organizations, tribal governments that are not federally recognized, and non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities, meaning foreign organizations can apply. This broad eligibility reflects a desire to draw in diverse scientific teams and institutional perspectives to tackle HS biology from multiple angles.

Taken together, the FOA is best understood as a targeted NIH push to accelerate the mechanistic foundation of HS research and help convert that biology into tangible translational opportunities. It is positioned for investigators who want to test ambitious ideas, develop or refine disease-relevant models, identify pathways and targets, and generate the kind of evidence that can later support larger-scale translational programs or eventual clinical studies, while staying clearly on the non-clinical-trial side of the research spectrum.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Accelerating Basic and Translational Research in Hidradenitis Suppurativa (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.846.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-03-28.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-09-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

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